'I lost my mind' son of murdered woman gives testimony in Coleman trial

BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Jurors heard testimony from some of the first witnesses on scene the night Christina Sargeant and her two children were found murdered during day two of the Coleman trial. Some details below are graphic in nature.

The first person to take the stand was Christina Sargeant's 22-year-old son Dominic Sargeant. He described the scene in detail to the jurors and those in the courtroom. Dominic Sargeant first saw his mother on her bed, he said he tried shaking her to wake up. Sargeant found his sister, Destiny Sargeant, with a cord around her neck and a plastic bag in her mouth. He did not see his brother at the time and thought he may have been kidnapped. When asked how he responded to the situation, Sargeant said: "I lost my mind".

Jurors learned that Sargeant's brother Duwayne Coke, was found in another bedroom under a blanket. The boy had been strangled by a cord -- one end around his neck, the other tied to the bunk bed in the room. Coke was found by the second witness to testify Corporal Noel Santiago. Santiago works with the Penobscot county sheriff's office. He was the first officer on scene the night the bodies were discovered.

Detective Jay Pelletier with the Major Crimes Unit and Trooper David Yankowsky with Maine State Police both described in detail how the bodies were found as well as what evidence was collected. The defense questioning whether or not items were moved for pictures, if they had looked for any female footprints around the house and how closely they looked at windows and a broken door hinge.

The last person to testify was former Maine Chief Medical Examiner, Margaret Greenwald. She stated that the deaths of Sargeant and Coke were asphyxia due to ligature strangulation. Testimony regarding the death of Destiny Sargeant will take place Friday.

Coleman's Defense Attorney Logan Perkins stated that she hopes jurors keep an open mind throughout the entire trial. "I hope that the jury will continue to see as we move through the case that the state overstated the strength of their case in their opening," Perkins said. " And that there's a lot more complexity to it than was suggested by the state's opening".

The jury is also expected to hear more about Coleman and the days leading up to the family's death when the trial resumes Friday morning.